Local Realtor Is Crowned PETA’s ‘Sexiest Vegan Over 50’
Longtime Animal Rights Proponent Nabs Stay at Luxury Beachfront Retreat—and a Platform to Help Even More Animals
For Immediate Release:
September 30, 2019
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
Today, PETA Prime named local real estate agent Laurel Lea one of its two Sexiest Vegans Over 50. Lea beat out dozens of entrants from across the country to win a three-night stay at Balance for Life Florida, an all-inclusive wellness retreat at a beautiful oceanfront resort.
After going vegetarian in the 1970s, Lea spoke out against animal testing in cosmetics company focus groups and slipped anti-fur leaflets into the fur coats at Bloomingdale’s. In 2018, she learned about the cruelty inherent in the egg and dairy industries and went vegan on the spot—and within weeks, she was able to stop taking blood pressure medication, her arthritis pain disappeared, and she felt good enough to start exercising for the first time in years. And her activism doesn’t end there: Lea also spearheaded a successful 12-year effort to save the 383-acre Leon Levy Preserve in Lewisboro, New York, which is now a safe haven in perpetuity for black bears, coyotes, bobcats, and a variety of other wildlife and endangered plants. She describes the area as “its own ecosystem.”
“Laurel Lea is an informed, enthusiastic animal advocate whose voice and vigor are only getting stronger,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is thrilled to support her as she continues to be a testament to the power of going vegan and making cruelty-free choices at any age.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. The group notes that in addition to saving the lives of nearly 200 animals every year, people who go vegan are less prone to suffering from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity than meat-eaters are.
The other winner of PETA Prime’s contest is Tim Medearis of Vancouver, Washington. PETA selected the two winners based on several factors, including vote count.
For more information and to view Lea’s bio, please visit Prime.PETA.org.
